Italian Peach Amaretti Food

PEACHES STUFFED WITH AMARETTI COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the bottom of an 8-inch baking dish and set aside.
• Using a melon baller, clean out the red flesh from the center of each peach. Arrange the peaches cut side up in the prepared dish. In the bowl of a food processor, add the amaretti cookies and pulse until finely crumbled. Divide the amaretti crumbs between the peaches. Fill the center of each peach with the amaretti cookie crumbs. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of sugar over each. Dot each peach with 1/2 teaspoon of butter.
• Bake until the peaches are tender and the filling is crisp on top, about 30 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream.

PEACH AND AMARETTI CRISP

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and lay a sheet of aluminum foil on the rack below to catch drippings. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• To make the filling:
• Mix the peach slices with the granulated sugar, flour, and vanilla or almond extract. Transfer the peaches to a shallow 2-quart baking dish.
• To make the topping:
• In a food processor, pulse together the flour, the brown and granulated sugars, amaretti, and cinnamon until the amaretti are in very small bits. Add the almonds and pulse until the nuts are in small pieces.
• Add the pieces of butter and pulse until the butter is finely broken up.Continue to pulse until the topping no longer looks sandy and is just beginning to hold together.
• Distribute the amaretti topping evenly over the peaches and bake the crisp for 40 to 50 minutes, until the edges are bubbling and a knife inserted into the center pierces the fruit easily.
• Serving:
• Serve warm with a cold pitcher of heavy cream or with vanilla ice cream.
• Variation:
• For a berry crisp, toss 6 to 8 cups mixed berries (quartered strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries) with 1/3 cup sugar, 2tablespoons flour, and a squirt of lemon juice. Cover with just enough topping to hide the fruit and freeze the rest.

PEACH-AMARETTI BRUSCHETTA

Steps:

• Thinly slice a baguette; arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Brush with softened butter and sprinkle with salt and sugar. Bake at 425 degrees F until lightly golden, about 7 minutes. Let cool slightly.
• Spread softened butter on the toast rounds. Top with peach preserves and crushed amaretti cookies.

ITALIAN STYLE AMARETTO-PEACH CRISP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Arrange the peach slices in an 8x8-inch pan or a gratin dish. (NOTE: If you are using frozen peaches, you don't need to defrost them first, but you do need to separate them.) Sprinkle with lemon zest, lemon juice, and Amaretto, if desired.
• Place the amaretti in a food processor and grind into crumbs with a few short bursts. Add the almonds during the last burst or two, so they get broken up but not finely ground. Stir in the optional sugar, if desired. (If you are in need of a little exercise, you can bypass the food processor. Put the cookies in a plastic bag and whack them mercilessly with a rolling pin. Add the almonds and optional sugar, and shake well.)(NOTE: I skip this step. Instead, I just add the cookies to the butter mixture (the cookies will soften in the melted butter/liquids). Mix and crush with a wooden spoon).
• Transfer the cookie mixture to a bowl, pour in the melted butter, and mix with a fork until well combined. Sprinkle the topping over the peaches, patting it into place.
• Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold, plain or `a la mode.

PEACH PRALINE SEMIFREDDO WITH AMARETTI

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Invert bottom of springform pan (to make it easier to slide semifreddo off bottom), then lock on side and oil pan.
• Stir together ground amaretti and melted butter in a bowl until combined well, then press evenly over bottom and up side of springform pan. Bake until crust is firm and a shade darker, about 10 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a rack, 20 to 30 minutes. Leave oven on.
• Make praline:
• Spread nuts in a shallow baking pan and toast in oven, stirring once or twice, until fragrant and golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer nuts to a bowl. Lightly oil same baking pan.
• Cook sugar in a heavy medium skillet over medium heat, stirring with a fork to heat sugar evenly, until it starts to melt, then stop stirring and cook, swirling skillet occasionally so sugar melts evenly, until it is a dark amber.
• Immediately stir in nuts, then pour mixture into oiled baking pan and let stand to harden and cool completely, about 15 minutes.
• Break praline into pieces, then pulse in cleaned food processor until finely chopped.
• Make semifreddo:
• Pit and coarsely chop peaches, with skins if desired, then purée in cleaned food processor with crushed vitaminutes C, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Force thourough a medium-mesh sieve set over a large metal bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids.
• Stir in egg yolks, then place bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water and beat with mixer until mixture is thick and pale and registers 140°F on an instant-read thermometer, then beat 3 minutes more (do not let boil).
• Remove bowl from saucepan and set in a larger bowl of ice and cold water. Add almond extract and beat until cold, about 6 minutes.
• Beat cream with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in another bowl using cleaned beaters until it just holds soft peaks.
• Fold one third of cream into peach mixture, then fold in praline and remaining cream gently but thoroughly. Pour mixture into cooled crust and freeze, covered with plastic wrap, until firm, at least 3 hours. Let stand in refrigerator 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving.
• Make peach topping while semifreddo stands in refrigerator:
• Cut an X in bottom of each peach, then blanch in a medium saucepan of boiling water 10 seconds. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking. Peel peaches and cut into 1/2-inch wedges.
• Toss peaches with crushed vitaminutes C and sugar and let stand, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved, about 10 minutes.
• Spoon peaches over semifreddo with a slotted spoon just before serving.

ROASTED PEACHES WITH AMARETTI CRUMBLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 11 x 7 x 2- inch glass baking dish. Combine cookies, almonds, flour, and sugar in processor. Using on/off turns, process until cookies and almonds are coarsely chopped. Add 3 tablespoons chilled butter to processor. Using on/off turns, process topping mixture until moist clumps form.
• Place peach halves, cut side up, in prepared dish. Spread topping over surface of each peach half (about 1 generous tablespoon for each), pressing lightly to adhere and leaving 1/4-inch plain border.
• Bake peaches until tender when pierced with knife and topping is golden brown, about 35 minutes. Cool slightly. Transfer 1 warm roasted peach half to each of 6 plates. Serve with scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside.
• Available at some supermarkets and at Italian markets.

ITALIAN PEACH AMARETTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven 375 degrees F. Butter the bottom of a 8" baking dish and set aside. Using a melon baller cleanout the red flesh from the center of peach. Arrange the peaches cut side up in the prepared dish.
• In the bowl of a food processor, add the amaretti cookies and pulse until fine. Divide the amaretti crumbs between the peaches. Fill the center of the peach with the amaretti. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp. of sugar over each. Dot each peach with 1/2 tsp. of butter.
• Bake until the peaches are tender and the filling is crisp on top about 30 min. Serve warm with whipped cream.